Wire-fence-building implement.



PATENTED JUNE 9, 1903.. E. HALL. WIEE FENCE BUILDING IMPLEMENT;

APPLICATION FILED DECO}, 1902.

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PATENTED JUNE 9,1903.

E. P. HALL. WIRE FENCE BUILDING IMPLEMENT.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO. 4, 1902.

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UNITED STATES -ED FRANCIS HALL,

Patented June 9, 1903.

OF HAYES, TEXAS.-

'WlRE-FENCE-BU|LD|NG IMPLEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 730,641, dated June 9, 1903.

Application filed December 4, 1902. Serial No. 133,868. (No model.)

To all whom 21f may concern:

Be it known that I, E1) FRANCIS HALL, at citizen of the United States, and aresident of Hayes, in the county of-Robertson and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved lVire-Fence-Building Implement, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel implement adapted to take up slack in an unbroken fence wire, draw together ends of a broken fence-wire, so as to permit said ends to be spliced together, cut off surplus wire, and pull staples from the fenceposts, as occasion may require.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described, and defined in the appended claims. 7

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved implement. transverse sectional view substantially on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view substantially on the line 3 8 inin Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view substantially on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. at is a transverse sectional view on the line 4 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective 7 view of working partsof the implement applied to draw together the ends of a broken fence-wire to splice them. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of two pivoted jaws of the implement from which the handle-levers are partiallyremoved and of a removable arm on one jaw, showing the operation of taking up the slack in a long wire while erecting ,a fence; and Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the implement applied to take up slack in a stretch of wire between fence-posts on a fence Fig. 2 is an enlarged being afforded at one end of each lever-bar.

The jaw members 5 near the pivot a are each given a quarter-turn, as at 17, thus disposing the bodies of the jaws so that their flat inner surfaces will be opposite each other.

A claw 5 is formed on each jaw 5 at its free end by bending a short portion inwardly, so that these bent portions project toward each other, and tapering said portions fiatwise to give them wedge form. centrally notched, these ,V-shaped notches forming two toes c, that have sharp inner edges on each claw 5, the use of which will hereinafter be explained.

At a point near the pivot a a preferably V- shaped notch d is formed on the inner edge of each jaw member 5". opposite each other have sharp opposite edges and afford shears for severing a fence-wire A by their engagement therewith, as shown in Fig. 4.

A latch-bar 6 is provided to hold the handle portions of the lever-bars 5 5 at any angle of These notches being Each bent end is divergence the use ofthe implement may require, said latch-bar having a fiat body and a series of spaced teeth 6 formed on one edge. A plurality of perforations g are formed in the latch-bar 6, near one end thereof, either mayindividually interlock with an end member of the keeper-loop 7, through which the latch-bar extends outward and terminates in a handle-ring vi, which affords means for the convenient manipulation of the latch-bar.

A perforation m is formed in each of the jaw members5 near the twist b, and by means of a bolt a and nut na short arm S-is changeably secured on either jaw, the bolt passing through a perforation, man d through a similar perforation in'the arm 8. As shown, the arm 8 is provided with a claw 8, said arm being notched on one end to form said claw,

this V-shaped notch afiording two toes 0, that z r I 780,641

are sharp on their inner edges. To prevent the arm 8 from rocking on the bolt '11-, an abutment-flange 8 is formed on the end opposite the claw S by bending said end portion at a right angle, the flange bearing against the edge of the jaw upon which it is mounted, so that when the bolt n and nut n are adjusted to secure the arm on the jaw said arm will be projected from the jaw, either as shown in Fig. 1 or as represented in Fig. 6. It will be seen that the arm 8 may be placed on either jaw member 5 and be secured thereto; also that the arm may be extended from either edge of either jaw, as occasion may require. To adapt the arm 8 to hold a fence-wire engaged in the V-shaped notch between the toes 0, said arm is bent laterally between its ends, as is shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

The improved implement is especially well adapted for use in the erection of new wire fences that require the wire strands A to be stretched taut and held thus by staples straddling the wire and driven into the supporting-posts B in the usual way, and it may also be employed for repair of such fences, the work in both cases being done by one person easily and rapidly and in a superior manner, which is a great advantage claimed for the improvement.

In Fig. 6 a representation of the implement in use to stretch a long wire in the erection of a new fence or for the renewal of wires on an old fence is shown. Assuming that a proper number of spaced posts B have been planted in the ground ready to receive fencewires and that the single fence-wire shown is the upper wire and the first to be secured thereon, the operator secures one end of the wire to a post that may be one hundred yards from the one on which the wire is to be secured after it is rendered taut. The implement is now employed to stretch the wire as follows: One claw 5 is embedded in' the post B, and in this case as the wire A is to be drawn from right to left the claw is that one which is formed on the jaw 5", forming a member of the lever-bar 5. After the claw 5 is engaged with a side of the post B the jaw on the lever-bar 5 isspread from the stationary jaw by opening the lever-bar 5 or, in other words, by moving it away from the lever-bar 5. The claw on the jaw of the lever-bar 51s now hooked upon the wire strand A, and the lever-bar 5 is subsequently rocked toward the lever-bar 5, which will correspondingly move the claw 5 that is hooked fast upon the wire and pull the latter toward the post B, whereon the other claw 5 is hooked, and the latch-bar 6 is now hooked upon the keeper-loop 7 to prevent a reverse movement of the jaw that is being pulled by the tightened-wire A. The slack wire is now introduced within the claw on the arm 8 and is drawn taut therein, so that the sharp edges of the V-shaped notch into which the wire is drawn will grip said wire and hold it. To insure such a retention of the wire A in a taut condition, the slack portion A near the arm 8 may be bent angularly', so as to dispose it at one side of the arm as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, which will hold the wire until the stretched portion issecured upon an adjacent fen ce-post. In case there is considerable slack A in the fencewire which is not all taken up by one pull on the same the operation should be repeated until the fence-wire is properly tightened and is thus held by adjustment of the latch-bar 6. The operator can now secure the wire to the post with one or more staples and then proceed with the stretching of another length of wire, as already explained.

In Fig. 7 the operation of tightening wires that are portions of an old fence undergoing repairs is shown. In this application of the device the arm 8 may be dispensed with, as the wires are not generally very slack, and the implement by one pull on the wire will take up the slackness of the wire and hold it until a staple is inserted in the post to which the device is applied.

In case a fence-wire is broken between two posts the implement may be conveniently used for repair of such wire by employing it as shown in Fig. 5. The end portions of the wire are picked up and respectively placed in the claws 5 after a right-angle bend or hook sis formed on the extremity of each end, the jaws of the implement being spread apart previously to such engagement. The lever bars 5 5 are now pressed toward each other, so that the broken end portions of the wire may lap more or less, and the latch-bar 6 is secured upon the staple-loop 7 to holdthe wire ends in lapped condition. The wire is now spliced by wrapping a binder-wire 0 around the lapped portions of the fence-wire, and any surplus of this binder-wire, as well as of the laterally-bent ends 3, may be trimmed off by use of the shears d, thus completing the splice in a neat and durable manner. It will be seen that if the arm Sis changed from one jaw 5 to the other one, as may be necessary, the slackness of fence-wires may be taken up in either direction and be held by the arm until the wire is secured, as beforeexplained.

In using the implement to pull out staples from the posts B in case a considerable number are to be removed the latch-bar 6 may be removed from the implement and the claws 5 be applied as jaws of pincers upon the sta ples, gripping them and holding each as it is engaged until it is removed by a rocking movement of the implement.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. Awire-stretcher,comprisingtwo fiat-bodied lever-bars pivoted together near one end thereof, the short ends of the said bars having quarter-turns formed thereon, providing two opposed jaws, each jaw having a notched claw on its end, said claws being bent toward each other and each havinga V-shaped notch, a short laterally-bent detent-arm having a IIO notched claw on its free end and a flange at the other end bent at a right angle, means for detachably securing the detent-arm on either jaw, and means for holding the lever-bars at any desired point of rocking adjustment.

2. A wire-stretcher, comprising two leverbars pivoted together near one end thereof, jaws on the short ends of the lever bars, each jaw having a notched claw, said claws being bent toward each other, and means for holding the lever-bars at a desired point of rocking adjustment, said means comprising a latch-bar having a plurality of spaced per forations near one end thereof, an adjustable screw passing through either of said perforations and into a perforation in one of the lever-bars, spaced teeth formed on one edge of the latch-bar, and a keeper-loop on the v 

